Elevating truck



March 12, 1929. N. wARsHAw ELEVATING TRUCK Filed Aug. l5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet lnvenTor. Nohund Worshow by@ wrm Anya.

N. WARSHAW ELEVATING TRUCK March 12, 1929.

Filed Aug. l 15, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lhve hTor Nqhomd wofshow l bywmxm A Nys.

ira-ankam. 12,7, i929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL waizsnaw, or MATTAPAN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssreNon To LEWIS-snm'- ARD COMPANY, OFiWATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS.

ELEVATING TSBUCK.

Appiifamoa mela Augusaisf 1927. serial No. 212,925.

f Th1s lnvention relates to lmprovements 1n single-lift elevating trucks in which the load-` provided, respectively, upon theload-support-ing means and upon the tongue which,l

in order to be engaged and disengaged, require that the tongue shall be in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the" truck. Frequently it is desirable to raise or` lower the load-supporting means when, by reason ofa narrow aisle orvsome obstruction, it is impossible to bring the tongue into substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the truck. The object of the present inven` tion is to provide va construction in which the load-supporting means may be elevated by the vertical swinging movement of the tongue when the latter'is in any usual steering position. l A The usual steering positions ofthe tongue relative to the longitudinal axis of the truck seldom require a divergence of more than thirty degrees on either side of the longitudinal axis of the truck, andthe mechanism illustrated herein' shows suitableinterengaging means upon theload-supporting means.

and tongue which are `capable of being engaged in any position within the limits specilied.- It will be readily understood, however,

that the interengaging memberof the tongue may be so constructed as to provide a much v wider range of lateral movement of the tongue if desirable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a single-lift elevating truck with interengaging means, respectively, upon the load-A supporting means and tongue which may be engaged by the depressionof the tongue when in any normal steering position and in^which the interengaging member upon the load-supporting means will be positioned when the' load-supporting means is elevated to engage he c'o-op'eratmg member upon the tongue` upon depression of thetongue without manipulation of any special mechanism to cause such engagement.

Afurther object of the invention is to pro-l vide means for withholding the interengaging member of the load-supporting means from engaging position when .the load-suplgaging member of the tongue;

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is` a perspective` view of asingle-lift elevating truck embodying the present-invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, the tongue being shown in vertical position and in section to permita clearer view of the interen- Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the lower portion of the tongue and the engaging member thereof; andy l v Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of a port-ion of the tongue and the engaging member thereof.

Flg. 5 is a view, partially inelevation and partially in vertical section, of an elevating truck embodying the invention, ports of the .frame and platform being broken away to Fig.,7 isa detail view illustrating the manner in which the end of the tongue having the lifting member thereupon is mounted upon the steering post.

This invention comprises certain improvements in single-lift elevating trucks disclosed in Patent No. 1,434,016, granted October 31, 1922 to Lewis Shepard Company, assignee tof Ralph M. Lovejoy, and the general construction of the truck shown in the drawings is substantially identical with that illustrated in said patent. -It will, however, be vunder- ;stood that the present invention is applicable to various other types'of single-lift elethe claims.

The elevating truck illustrated inthe draw-n ings herein comprises a head1 which may be a casting having a fiat body portion with an upwardly extending cylindrical boss' 2 and downwardly-extending end flanges 3 to which. sidebbars 4 are connected. The side bars 4' vvating trucks within the spirit and scope ofA 4 roo 7 of the truck wheels 8Y rotatably mountedupon the axle 7 upon the outside of the sidel bars 4 and secured upon the axle in any suit-` able manner. Preferably roller bearings are employed for the rear axles, as is usual in trucks of this character adapted to transport heavy loads. The front end of the truck is provided with suitable steering mechanism which, as illustrated, comprises ra pair of steering wheels 9 which are journaled in the lower end of a yoke 10 having a vertical steering post 11 journaled'centrally in the cylindrical boss 2. The upper end of the steering post 11 is provided with a preferably integral bracket having upwardly-extending ears 12, which support a shaft 13 upon which the base portion 14 of a tongue 15 is pivotally mount- Aed to swing vertically. The base portion 14 l of the tongue has secured to it and preferably integral therewith an arcuate liftingy member 16 which is adapted to be interengaged with a complementary lifting member in the form of a hook, which is flexibly connected to the loadsupporting means, as will hereinafter more fully appear. rlhe lifting member 16 preferably is oval in cross section, to give maximum strength, and also to present a curved surface to be engaged by the hook of the loadsupporting means.

rlhe load-supporting means is in the form of a platform comprising side bars 17 which are connected together at their rear ends by an inverted angle bar 18, the end of the side bars 17 desirably having extensions 19 which 'wrap around the ends and rear walls of the angle bar 18. The rear end ofthe platform is supported by a link 20, which may be of skeleton form, pivoted upon the rear axle 7 of thev truck. In the preferred construction illustrated, the link 20 isV provided at either end with bosses 21, 22'which are rotatablymountfront ends of the side bars 17 and an integral" vertical wall -25 forming a dash-board. The

Wall 25 is provided with a series of forwardly-extending brackets 26 whichai'e spaced apart and in which a shaft 27 1s mounted. Links 28 arranged in substantial parallelism with the link 20 at the rear end of the truck,

are pivotally mounted upon the shaft 27'y on the front end of the load-supporting means and at their lower ends are pivotally mounted upon shafts 29 which are-carried by the side bars 4 of the truck. .The co-operating engaging member upon the load-supporting means 1s 1n the form of a hook 30 adapted yto engage the membery 16. The lower end of the hook is provided with laterally-extending brackets 31 having downwardly-extend--- pivotally mounted upon Such forward movement willA swing the links ,.20 and' 28 toward a vertical position, thereby raising the load-supporting means. By raising the' tongue the links 20 and 28 will be permitted to swing downwardly so that the platform will be restored to its lowered posiion.

Any suitable means may be provided for locking., the load-supporting means in clevated position. The particular construction herein is similar to that illustratedin Patent No. 1,434,016 above mentioned, and comprises a hook 32 which is pivotally mounted upon a shaft 33 in suitable bosses on the head 1 and is provided with an extension in which a stud shaft 34 is mounted, with the counterweight 35 pivoted upon 'said stud shaft and adapted, when in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, normally to raise the hook 32 so that its hooked end 36 will engage the shaft 27 when the load-supporting means is moved to its forward and elevated position. rl`he counter-weight 35 is provided with an extension 37 which has a stud 38 extendinginto a slot 39 in an arm 40 which is also pivotally connected to the load-supporting means. The slot 39 is of such length that when the load-supporting means is inelevated position the counterweight 35 may be reversed so that its weight will rest upon the hook and tend to release 'the hook when the load-supporting means is slightly elevated, as more fully described in the prior patent aforesaid.

load-supporting means is in lowered position.

This construction likewise may be similar to that disclosed in the prior patent laforesaid and comprises a hook-'positioning member which is in the form of a link 41 which is pivotally mounted upon an ear 42 extendin upwardly from one of the brackets 31 o the hook and located a considerable distance from the shaft 27 upon which the hook 3 0 is pivoted. The link 41 has a downwardly-extending-foot 43 which, when the load-supporting means is in elevated position,-engages one of the ears of the bracket 31 and limits the movement of the hook in a manner hereinafter described so that its curved end is retained lin the path of the elevating member 16 ofthe -stud upon a bell-crank lever 45 which is mounted on a shaft 46 carried by the head 1.

The bell-crank lever 45 is provided with a .means is lowered.

pedal 45", and the slot 44 is so proportioned that the'bell-crank/lever may be operated by the pedal to draw the link 41 forwardly and thereby force the hook into engagement with the lifting member 16 of the tongue when the platform is in lowered` position. A spring 47 connected at one end to link 41l and at its opposite end to an ear on the hook bracket 31 and quite closely adjacent to the shaft 27 tends normally to force the link endwise in a direction toward the load-supporting means, thereby causing the hook to be carried into a vertical position when the loadsupporting As the loadsupporting means is raised and advanced during its elevating movement, the link 41 is pivotallyl moved about the stud on the bell-crank lever 45, and when it is in substantially its elevated position the foot 43`of the link engages one of the downwardly-extending lugs of the hook bracket 31, thus limiting the endwise movement of the link and retaining the hook in raised position to per'- mit free steering movement of the tongue and also in a position to be engaged by the lifting member 16 upon depression of the tongue when itis desired to lower the load-su porting means from elevated position. onsequently the hook-positioning means acts to prevent the hook from falling forwardly into the path of the lifting member 16 of the tongue when the load-supporting means is in its lowered position, and also serves, when the load-supporting means is in elevated position, to retain the hook in proper position to be engaged by the lifting member 16 of the tongue upon the downwardly-swingingmovement of the tongue, thereby avoiding the necessity o f any manually-operable device for f causing engagement of the hook 30 with the lifting member 16 of the tongue when theload-supporting tion.

By reason of the fact, Itherefore, that .the lifting member 16 of the tongue is -of arcuate form concentric with the axis ofthe steering post, interengagement of the hook 30 and lifting member 16 may be effected when the loadsupportifig means is in lowered position and the ltongue in any usual steering position by the depression of the pedal 45x to draw the means is in elevated posilink forward and thereby lock the hook 30 into engagement with the lifting member 16l so that the load-supporting means can` be elevated by depression of the tongue when the tongue 1s in any usualsteering position. Depression of the tongue 16 will then raise the load-supporting means lto elevated position,

supporting means and steering mec in, which a win be heid by the hook 32,' afs' heretofore described. When the tongue is raised to yusual steering position the lifting member 16 thereof will lie below the point of the hook 30 and will permit the tongue to lbe swung through van arc of 180 degrees or more, l

so that the truck can be steered freely in any direction. When it is desired to lower the load-supportingz means, depression :of the tongue will cause the lifting member 16-there of to engage the hook 30, and further depres-l sion of the tongue will then raisethe loadobstruction from being swung into alignment' with the longitudinal aXisof the truck. Furthermore, the ability to raise and lower the Y loadisupporting means with the tongue in any usual steering position saves considerableA effort and time of the user as compared with that required for manipulation of usual types ofsingle-lift trucks.

It will be understood that the particular embodiment of the invention claimed is of an illustrative character and is not restrictive of the scope of the claims and that the invention may beembodied in other types of trucks lll() -to which it may be applicable Vwithin'the j meaning of the claims.v

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new,and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an elevating ltruck compri-singloadsupporting means and steering mechanism vhaving' a tongue pivotally mounted to swing vertically, means including a member flexibly coiinected to said load-supporting means, and rigid (3o-operating means .upon said tongue operable by vertical swinging vmovements of the tongue when in any usual steering position to raise and lower said load-supporting means.

connected to said loa-d-supporting means, and

-of the .tongue when in any usual steering position to raise and lower saidlolad-support-v ing means.

3. In an elevating truck comprising load-v having asteering post and a tongue pivotally anism including a hooked member pivotally con nected to said load-supporting means, and af co-opcrating arcuate member on said tongue substantially concentric with the axis of the steering post adapted to be engaged by said hooked member when the tongue is in any usual steering position and operable by vertical swinging movements of the tongue when so engaged to raise and lower the load-supporting means.

4. ln an elevating truck comprising load-v supporting means and steering mechanism having a steering post and a tongue pivotally mounted thereon to swing vertically, means including a hooked member pivotally connected tosaid load-supporting means, and a c'o-opcrating arcuate member oval in cross section, rigid with said tongue, substantially concentric with the axis of the steering post adapted to be engaged by said hooked member when the tongue is in any usual steering -position and operable by vertical swinging movements of the tongue when so engaged lto raise and lower the load-supporting means.

5. In an elevating truck comprising loadsupporting means andsteering mechanism having a steering post, a tongue mounted thereon to swing vertically, an arcuate lift ing member on said tongue substantially concentric withl'the axis of the steering post, a co-operating hook pivotally mounted on said load-supporting means tending normally to engage thel lifting member of said tongue, and automatic means acting upon said hook to withhold the same from engagement with said arcuate lifting member when the load-supporting means is in lowered position and topermit engagement of the hook therewith when the load-supporting means is in elevated position with the tongue in any usual steering position.

6. In an elevatingtruck comprising loadsupporting meansand steering mechanism having a steering post, a tongue mounted thereon to swing vertically, an arcuate lifting member on said tongue substantially concentric with the axis of the steering post, 'a cooperating hoolt pivlotally mounted on -said load-supporting means tendingy normally to engage the lifting member ot said tongue, automatic means acting upon said hook to withhold the samev from engagement with said arcuate lifting member when the loadsupport-ing means is in lowered position and to permit engagement of the hook therewith when the load-supporting means is in'elevated position with the tongue in any usual steering position, and manually operable means for causing the hook to engage said arcuate lifting member -with the tongue in any steering position.

7. In` an elevating truck comprising a wheel supporting frame having steering mechanism including a steering post, a tongue mounted on said steering post -to swing vertically, load-supporting means movable longitudinally relatively to said frame, means for elevating and lowering said loadsupporting means upon such relative movement thereof, an arcuate lifting member on said tongue substantially concentric with the axis of the steering post, a hook pivotally mounted on the front end of said load-supporting means and positioned to lie in the ,path of'said arcuate member when the load! supporting means is in elevated position and to be engaged thereby upon depression of the tongue when in any usual steering position, and means operable when the load-supporting means is in lowered position to remove and retain said hook out of engagement with said arcuate lifting member,` whereby the tongue will be vfree for steering purposes.

vIn testimonT1 whereof, I have lsigned my va5 name to this specification.

NATHANmL WARSHAW. 

